I don't have a magical tip for you to solve this problem, what I use to do is do use merge cross section + create structural and non structural group. This gives me a not so detailed section, and when I need, I place the hatches inside the annotation mode. I know it's not an automatic way. I've used archicad for I wile, it has a way to join every element with the same hatch, I'm introducing Revit now here in my studio, and it can join elements , like the hole section were a 2d drawing. But with vectorworks, the best way for me is not to lose a lot of time trying to detail things a lot for sections and introduce a lot of 2d details of wall sections and joints.
To do your wish directly in 3d, you could have a layer for exterior walls with the correct height openings etc... and in the plans layer you could have a copy of it, just to display in 2d the correct openings for each level, controlling the classes you can display plans and sections correctly in 3d. It's just a game of hide and show elements in the viewport, but this take times, doesn't work for all cases, and it's difficult to master and for this reason to implement in a office.
ok - i worked with archicad the last years. archicad join every element with the same hatches. why has vectorworks not such a function? it´s one of the most needed function for architects. i don´t need a special render function or content!
if we want to talk about bim and ifc a good floor plan and section view in 2D are the basics. if it don´t work when i have to build a easy house what will be if i has a complex building?
my wish is to draw walls with windows and doors, floors and a roof in 3D. the sections in 2D should come automatically without any workaround. Where are the problems?
When setting up my layers I use wall height as my layer delta Z and then start the next layer from the bottom of the next wall. (eg Ground layer Bottom Z = 0 Delta Z = 2400, 1st Floor Z = 2500 Delta Z = 2400) then I create my mid floor on the 1st floor layer with Z = -100 and thickness 100.